Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Paul Ryan's four years at Miami University, a bucolic campus nestled in the small town of Oxford, Ohio, helped to shape the Wisconsin congressman's political and ideological views.

An economics professor named Richard Hart guided Ryan through the classics of conservative economic theory, and Ryan soon came to revere thinkers such as Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.

(CNN) - Iowa. Ohio. Colorado. Virginia. Nevada. All are battleground states crucial to both sides' chances for victory in November, and all host campaign events Tuesday by the presidential and vice-presidential contenders.

President Barack Obama woke up in Iowa for the second day of his bus tour through the agricultural heartland, while certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney headed to coal country in Ohio.

(CNN) – Surrogates for Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama argued Tuesday over just how similar Romney's budget plan was to the plan offered by his new running mate Paul Ryan, which proposes major changes to Medicare.

Speaking on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien," Romney campaign national co-chairman John Sununu stressed that Romney, as the name on the top of the GOP ticket, was guiding the budget his campaign is proposing, but that elements of Ryan's House GOP budget proposal – including the Medicare provisions – would be included.FULL POST

(CNN) - Mitt Romney will continue his four-day battleground bus tour on Tuesday with three stops in Ohio. Newly minted vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will hold his second solo campaign event in suburban Denver, Colorado. Following this event, Ryan will head to Las Vegas for a campaign rally at Palo Verde High School and a private fund-raiser at casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's Venetian Hotel.

Meanwhile, President Obama will continue his three-day bus tour through Iowa on Tuesday with stops in Oskaloosa, Marshalltown and Waterloo. Vice President Biden will also be on the campaign trail, kicking off a two-day tour of southern Virginia.

Washington (CNN) - A seven-term Wisconsin congressman who 54% of the American people were not aware of last week just knocked the president of the United States off of his perch as the most talked-about politician on the largest social media platform in the world.

According to the exclusive Facebook-CNN Election Talk Meter, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, in the 54 hours since being announced as Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, sucked up the political oxygen in the social media landscape - with the Beltway topping the buzz and his home state of Wisconsin close behind.

(CNN) - Wisconsin's Senate GOP battle is shaping up to end in a close finish Tuesday as voters cast their ballots for the competitive four-way race.

Heading into the contest, a recent poll shows former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson as the frontrunner in the crowded field of candidates, with businessman Eric Hovde, former Rep. Mark Neumann and state assembly speaker Jeff Fitzgerald following behind.FULL POST

(CNN) - Voters in Ohio and Nevada, the states which Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will visit on Tuesday, may encounter a web ad or mailer hitting the Republican candidates on the issues of Medicare and Coal.

Worker's Voice said it plans to spend $50,000 on web advertisements in Nevada which tie the Medicare plan proposed by Ryan to Romney and to Sen. Dean Heller.